MURALI KRISHNAN forwards a joke which he claims “won the best joke prize in London”.

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Banta Singh walks into a bar in London and orders three glasses of beer and sits in the back of the room, drinking a sip out of each one in turn.

When he finishes, he comes back to the bar counter and orders three more glasses. The bartender tells asks him, “You know, beer goes flat after I fill it in the glass; it would taste better if you buy one at a time.”

Banta Singh replies, “Well, you see, I have two brothers. One is in Dubai , the other in Canada and I’m here in London… When we left home, we promised that we’ ll drink this way to remember the days when we drank together.”

The bartender admits that this is a nice custom and leaves it there.

Banta Singh becomes a regular in the bar, and always drinks the same way. He orders three beers and drinks them in turn.

One day, he comes in and orders only two beers. All the other regulars notice and fall silent.

When he comes back to the bar for the second round, the bartender says, “I don’ t want to intrude on your grief, but I wanted to offer my sincere condolences on your great loss.”

Banta Singh looks confused for a moment. Then he laughs. “Oh, no,” he says, “Everything’ s fine. Both my brothers are alive and kicking . The only thing is I just quit drinking.”